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Wednesday, August 6, 2008
So you think you can watch the dancers, China, presidential debates and more?
We’re down to the final four tonight and the actual winners tomorrow night on “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Have you picked your favorites? In case you’ve lost track, the final four are: Courtney G., Katee, Joshua and Twitch. The hoofing, spinning, splitting and cheerleader-style gymnastics begin at 7 tonight and 7 Thursday night on Fox.
And if you need more information than one human being can possibly consume, check out the Fox site.
Fox is so high on this show it has already been renewed it, and creator/executive producer Nigel Lythgoe already has announced he is leaving his behind-the-scenes job on “American Idol” to devote himself to his on-camera (he’s a judge) and off-camera roles on “Dance.”
ABC looks at ‘China Inside Out’
If you’re in the mood for a thought-provoking documentary as you settle in for 17 days of the Beijing Olympics, ABC’s got a winner in “China Inside Out.” The program airs tonight at 9 in place of “Primetime.”
The report by Bob Woodruff looks at predictions that we’re heading into “the Chinese century” and whether that’s a good or bad thing for the rest of the world. Woodruff, by the way, speaks Mandarin and began his journalism career covering the uprisings in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
With the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics coming Friday night, this is an intriguing and timely look at the global impact of China and the impact of the communist revolution.
Woodruff, you might recall, continues to recover from the traumatic brain injury he suffered in January 2006 while covering the Iraq war. The road back has been long, with many frustrations and setbacks, but Woodruff appears to be on top of his game with this special.
Debates could use snappy moderators
The Commission on Presidential Debates has named Jim Lehrer and Gwen Ifill of PBS, Tom Brokaw of NBC News and Bob Schieffer of CBS News as moderators of the three presidential debates and one vice-presidental debate.
For the serious-minded among us, this is good news. It means that neither Fox’s Bill O’Reilly nor MSNBC’s Chris Matthews will embarrass themselves, the candidates and the audience with loud, obnoxious questions.
Lehrer, of course, is the calmer-than-calm anchor of “The NewsHour,” and Ifill is the brainy and smooth moderator of “Washington Week.” Brokaw, of course, is NBC’s former anchor and current fill-in for the late Tim Russert on “Meet the Press.”
But wouldn’t it have been fun to have Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert alternate the four gatherings? Seriously, ratings would soar.
And John McCain and Barack Obama have been honing their comedy skills all through the campaign.
Opportunity lost …
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